June 2007 Bandsters

[LadyHR 0]

I have to stop when I start feeling the least bit full. Otherwise, it just continues to get worse - a totally miserable "stuffed" feeling that lasts for 2-3 hours. It happens after about 3/4-1 cup of food for me. I haven't gotten anything stuck yet so I feel very fortunate. I do take small bites and chew, chew, chew. Haven't tried white bread, steak, or shrimp yet.

[nvalicia 0]

Well, after about two weeks of being very sick I ended up in the ER. Turns out I had a stomache virus and my gall bladder needs to be removed. I really don't want surgery again but I guess I have to. I will have my port fixed at the same time so that I can have my first fill also. I am kind of mad at the doctor because I asked him if they checked the gall bladder when they put the band in and he said he would, but I find that hard to believe.

[Suzzzie. 3]

I'm having the same issues after my third fill. I think that we are being forced to eat slower, and I also think that we are not supposed to feel full...just not hungry. Anyhow, this is what I am experiencing. I'm trying to convince myself that this is a good thing to not feel full...just not hungry. I'm hard to convince!

I feel the same way. I'm not getting full either. Mostly my jaw gets so tired from chewing that i give up! And I'm so paranoid about getting something stuck and PBing now that I take the tiniest bites and chew forever. People who don't know I'm banded have noticed that I eat much slower. Its insane. How do I explain that? Lol. But yeh, I don't really get full, just not hungry. Which works for me!

I wondered if that might be the case. It is just going to take some getting used to. Does everybody else's food get cold by the time your getting done? So I am supposed to be eating 1/2-1cup of food 1/2 tsp at a time, and take 30 min to do so. Do you get a full feeling? Thanks

YES!! I heated up my Lean Pocket today and it was insanely cold by the time I was 1/2 way through it!!

[beardpa 0]

You must have gone to TJ? what city do you live in. who banded you?

Me either Hotty. I've got 6.0 cc now and I can still eat without getting restriction. I'll give it some time to settle though. This fill feels differently though, burping is different. I wish I could get my mind off of it and onto other things. Getting good restriction is becoming my obsession and I'm starting to drive myself crazy. I think if you're getting stuck feelings, you have to take smaller bites and chew more. I'm starting to make an effort to only load my spoon 1/3.

Patty I don't get a burning or choking feeling. I did have a lot of uncomfortable burping after my second fill though. Btw, I met two Kuri patients today when I got my fill.

[mjsafari 0]

I think I finally have what I would call restriction. If I eat too big a bite - which I tend to do the first couple of bites - it hurts like the dickens and I have to put the fork down. After the pain is past I am able to eat small bites and CHEW some more until I feel full. It is never very much 1/2-3/4 of cup of food. While I was at my convention there was a lot of good food, but I definitely could NOT over eat. Shrimp was slow going down, and I could only get a couple bites of hamburger in. I sipped Water so I could eat just one more bite of the best mashed potatoes I have ever had - Peruvian purple!

I gained a pound while I was gone (i am not changing the ticker!) - I am sure it was the Midwest airlines chocolate Chip cookie! I did have a couple of small dessert items also, but with all the food that was there I felt really good that I couldn't over eat. Before I would have sat down with nothing but potatoes on my plate and then gone back for more. This time I left food behind every single time.

Now for the horror story - my husband is having ALOT of trouble. He thinks it was triggered by painfully stuck food over a week ago followed by severe sliming and PBing. A day after that, he couldn't get anything down without sliming and PBing, even water burned. He had trouble all weekend, so the nurse called him in Carfate on Sunday. He went in to have Fluid removed (he had 3ccs from surgery) on Monday. The nurse was able to get less than 1cc out. This did not provide any relief though, he couldn't get water in without it burning. He went back in and the doc took another 1.6cc out, then had him do a barium swallow. The barium took 5 minutes to go through. The doc was worried it wasn't going to go through at all, but he has a little tiny hole with severe esophageal swelling. He is able to get some water and Gatorade in along with some pudding and mashed potatoes, but he is still in pain. They said he would just have to baby it along for now, so he continues to take the Carfate and his Prilosec, and sips a little bite every 15 minutes. He is not a happy camper right now and the pain is so bad sometimes, he told the doc he would consider having the band taken out! Hopefully he can hang on, the doc is watching him very closely.

[ja9va 0]

nv During my preopt testing my galbladder showed something wrong. at first I thought it was going to have to come out and put off my band. But my doc decided to go forward with the band and monitior the galbladder. After surgery I asked him what my galbladder looked like when he was in there, and he said," I forgot to look!" Crazy! then my blood work in the hospital showed nothing. I have not had a sonogram or blood work yet. I never had problems in the past. I will be going to the doc today and will ask him if they will be taking blood.

Missy sorry to here about your dh. I am glad they will watch him closely and I to hope the band does not have to come out. He has come this far!

I go to the doc today, I am not sure I will get a fill or not. I want one, this would be #2. but I leave for the beach tomorrow for a week and they may think I should wait until I return. I am wiling to take the chance, the worst is i would only be able to drink for week. Hey, first vacation I may actually lose weight!

I will let you know how it goes! I am also curious after my difficult first fill how much Fluid is actually in there!

[insubordination 0]

Missy: Do not change your ticker for a gain. That's not how it works! Those potatoes sound great.

Missy - that sucks. Your poor hub. I think the swellng is right. After I PB, I cannot eat much for 24 hours. I think it's because of irritation/swelling in the area. I can't believe they could only get 1cc out. How can that be?

NValicia - how frustrating. They should have taken out your gall bladder when they banded you. In a few months, you'll be right as rain.

Is it normal to have a hard time swallowing (feels like your being choked and burns) when you get a fill? I was Okay at first, but by the next morning, I felt terrible.

I have a hard time swallowing. Once I had an overfill and the Water made strange sounds going down and I had an extremely tight feeling mid-chest. The next morning, it was better, not worse. I've never felt a burning sensation. Can anyone enlighten?

Well since most are reporting bad news, everything is fine and dandy with my band. My probs are more the psychological withdrawal from binge eating. I'm certainly learning a lot about my relationship with food and when I want to eat and why. It certainly has very little to do with hunger.

[mjsafari 0]

I am not sure - he said the nurse tried the 2nd time but couldn't get anymore out, so she got the doc. He got out a bigger syringe and pulled really hard and was finally able to get more out. They said the band does different things with the Fluid in everyone. Very strange.

I am back down this morning, so no need to change the ticker! I like the rule of not changing :-)~

[bigsexy 0]

Been a long time since i posted here but I had my first real misserable experience with the band. Admitedly i took way too big of a bit of an egg white omelet and it got stuck. I have had something stick slightly before but it passed after standing up. But this time it was there for good. I tried walking around etc and eventually pb'd. I feel so misserable about doing it like i have failed. I had made a goal for myself never to pb and sure enough I couldn't accomplish it. I am worried that i did some damage and of course my docs office is on vacation through all of next week. I am going back on self perscribed liquid diet for the next couple days just to ease any irritation. I am not in pain or anything just want to be careful.

I have to say my pb experience was the worst thing i have ever gone through. it wasnt really painful as it was more uncomfortable but the mental impact has been devistating. Any advise. Will i be okay?

[TexasFire 84]

BIGSEXY - I'm sure you will be fine. We all have heard the horror stories about bands slipping and stuff like that, but the truth is that most bandsters DO slime and PB at some point. And 99.99% of the time everything is fine. With the band stitched in like it is now (they just started doing that pretty recently), it would be very hard to make it slip. It certainly doesn't hurt to go on liquids for a bit, though. Don't beat yourself up...you are a normal bandster! And your weight loss is phenomenal! Whatever you are doing, it is WORKING! Keep up the good work!

[faithmd 14]

Faith - I was stuck for what felt like forever, too. I started using the eliptical machine for 25-30 minutes a day for almost two weeks now and the scale has started moving again. Have you been working out?

Yep, I work out regularly. Elliptical, NuStep, Treadmill, Airdyne bike, stationary programmable bike.

It's starting to come off slowly again. Slow is better than none. But I'm not changing my ticker until I'm less than 300. I'm holding out until then! I have found that when I eat about 2000-2200 calories a day I lose. Less than that and I seem to plateau. I should be grateful, huh?

...I think a plateau is normal Faith. It will pass soon. Get a fill if you think it will help. That's what the band is for.

You're right, it is normal. I have to keep telling myself that. I have been on this weight loss journey since February (lost about 40 lbs pre-band) and thus I should realize I will plateau. It's time that I do it a little more frequently.

I will get a fill if I can't break the plateau, I'll try stepping up my exercise by five mins each session and see if that helps, too.

I just really want to hold out for as long as I can. I like being able to eat whatever I want (not amounts, but types of food). I cannot IMAGINE not being able to eat things like Peanut Butter or chicken or shrimp or a touch of brown rice or eggs or, or, or... I do have more restriction and can't eat much without hiccoughing (hiccupping) when I wake up and I know that when I start to hic... I should STOP. I'm just still having head issues, I'm sure we all are. If we weren't, we wouldn't have been banded.

Have a great day folks!

[o2bthin 0]

I had a pb episode last night, but the stuck food wouldn't come up and I was afraid to pb more than slime, so I just dealt with it. I was out shopping with my daughter, walking around, sliming and gurgling. It took over an hour before the pain went away. It was the worst experience so far with the band. Dummy me had 3 bites of a Cinnabon. Probably the worst thing.

You must have gone to TJ? what city do you live in. who banded you?

Patty, I went to Dr. Ortiz. I live in NW Washington.

[mvr 0]

Had my second fill on Tuesday, now 3.5 in a 10 cc band. No restriction I can still eat like a fiend. I am really depressed, forcing myself to post because I always go away when things aren't working out. I thought this would be easier, or at least something.

[Holliwagz 0]

Ok about the PB slimming I had someone at support group offer a good suggestion.... drink small drinks of pineapple juice! There is something about it that breaks up the food quicker or something and let me tell you it WORKS!! Just a little bit of FYI!

[insubordination 0]

Thanks for the pineapple juice tip.

Had my second fill on Tuesday, now 3.5 in a 10 cc band.

Keep posting, we want to hear from you. I have a 10ml band also. We probably have different bands (I have the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band) but my first fill was 5.0 and my 2nd was 2.5. My third was 0.75. I got increasing restriction on all of those fills and now I wouldn't get another one for a while. Maybe tell the doctor that you have no restriction and that you would like more put in so it starts working.

Don't worry about PBing BigSexy. It's just your band telling you to chew. I have done it three times already but I can tell I didn't damage anything.